A Free Exchange Of Ideas About Jewelry

Tag Archives: nickel allergy

A very interesting article came across my desk this morning from Jeffrey Benabio, MD. Doctor Benabio is a dermatologist San Diego, CA. So you may be asking, “What does this have to do with jewelry?” Well, the article is about wedding ring disease also known as wedding ring dermatitis. I have also included a link to the follow up article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on December 15, 2009.

Wedding-ring dermatitis can cause red, scaly welts on the ring finger, underneath a person’s wedding band. It can be caused by moisture and soap trapped under the ring—or by an allergy to nickel, which is usually present in small amounts even in costly rings made of gold, silver or platinum. You can develop a rash even after wearing a ring for years because its protective coating wore away and the nickel has come to the surface.

Self-defense: Stop wearing the wedding ring until the rash heals—one to two weeks. A hydrocortisone cream, such as Cortaid, may help. If you start wearing the ring again and the rash reappears, see a dermatologist to get an allergy test to determine if the rash is caused by a reaction to nickel. You may need to have the ring recoated or buy a new one. Jeffrey Benabio, MD, dermatologist, Kaiser Permanente, San Diego.